About Us

Our Story.

We’re Lisa & Dustin DeMeritt, co-founders of DinkyBalls and former owners of Pickles Indoor Pickleball Club. But more than anything, we’re just two people who fell in love with the game, the community, and the people who made it feel like home.

When we opened Pickles in 2021, it wasn’t part of a grand plan. It was a simple idea: create a space where anyone, any age, any ability, any background, could show up and feel like they belonged. What happened next was more than we ever imagined. Players came for the game, but they stayed for each other.

Over time, standing behind the counter, watching matches, and chatting between games, we saw something extraordinary. Pickleball wasn’t just play, it was personality. Every serve, every lob, every laugh revealed something unique about the person holding the paddle.

That realization planted the seed for DinkyBalls. Not a business plan, but a spark born from the court itself. Inspired by the quirks, spirit, and confidence of the players we met every day, we began to imagine a collection of characters that could reflect those personalities and celebrate them in a fun, playful way.

As DinkyBalls grew, so did our understanding of what it represented. It wasn’t just about characters or merch, it was about the people, places, and feeling that made pickleball special in the first place.

For us, DinkyBalls is a way to take care of that feeling. A way to honor the players and communities who made pickleball feel like more than a sport. And a way to help carry that sense of belonging, joy, and connection forward as the game continues to grow.

If we’ve learned anything, it’s this:
Be YOU. Play your way.

From Court to Community

The Stories, Behind the Story.

Pickleball has never just been about the game. It’s about the people. The places. The personalities. The way this sport brings joy, builds community, and makes room for everyone.

DinkyBalls was born courtside, not from a concept, but from paying attention. The characters you see today (Paddy, Lobber, Banger, Legend, and the rest of our whacky bunch) are playful by design, but they’re built from something real: the players and communities who show up and make the game feel like home.

This is how we give that feeling a voice. We sit courtside. We listen between games. We spotlight the clubs, courts, and people doing it the right way, welcoming, human, and full of personality.

Because as pickleball grows, the goal isn’t just “more.” It’s protecting what made people fall in love with it in the first place.

If you’ve got a story or a community we should visit, we’d love to hear it. See ya’ on the courts.

The Stories: Scroll. Click. Watch.

The Pickleball Effect Book

Be among the first to get your copy of The Pickleball Effect.

It’s an honor to be featured in The Pickleball Effect by Scott Manthorne. More than recognition, it feels like a celebration of the game that has given us joy, purpose, and community. We’re proud to stand among the “pickleball famous”: athletes, celebrities, influencers, owners, and everyday players, whose stories come together in this book to show how the game has touched and changed lives.

From November 1st to April 1st, a portion of every book sold will support five incredible organizations making a positive impact on the game: Adaptive Pickleball, Chicken N Pickle Foundation, National Women’s Pickleball Foundation, Pickleball Cares, and Pickleball Farm.

Our hope is simple: to share the power of pickleball through stories that inspire, while giving back to those who grow the game.